Jennifer Greenhalgh
Dear editor:
As members of the Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Festival committee, we would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few comments that were printed in the Wednesday, July 11 edition of the Fort Frances Times.
First and foremost, we would like to say that NCDS did not “organize” the Dragon Boat Festival. A planning committee was formed which included individuals from local clubs, banks, and organizations.
One could, indeed, say that the event was planned “last minute” as Dragon Boat Canada only awarded the community boat to Fort Frances in January.
Although this did not leave much time to plan a festival, we felt it was vital to use the boat in any capacity as the best way to market it. Advertising is quite expensive and money was tight, therefore we were forced to “market” the festival thriftily.
In no way did we think that the festival would be “world class,” but rather it would provide a little entertainment for our lacking Canada Day festivities.
We believe our goal was achieved as there were many spectators watching the event and it also provided a fun-filled day for participants, as well.
For future years, the committee has come up with many ideas and additions that we would like to include as we hope the festival will build year after year.
We would like to thank our sponsors and all the volunteers who dedicated their time, and to those individuals who donated their personal property to the event.
We welcome anyone interested in paddling in the future.
Please pass the word along as word of mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing!
Regards,
Jennifer Greenhalgh
(on behalf of the
Boundary Waters
Dragon Boat committee),
Fort Frances, Ont.
